Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 118 L.N.T.S. 343,
entered into force June 19, 1931.

[The Human Rights Library wishes to express its gratitude to
the Institute Henry Dunant for its contribution of this document.]

(List of Contracting Parties)

Recognizing that, in the extreme event of a war, it will be
the duty of every Power, to mitigate as far as possible, the inevitable
rigours thereof and to alleviate the condition of prisoners of
war;

Being desirous of developing the principles which have inspired
the international conventions of The Hague, in particular the
Convention concerning the Laws and Customs of War and the Regulations
thereunto annexed,

Have resolved to conclude a Convention for that purpose and
have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries:

(Here follow the names of Plenipotentiaries)

Who, having communicated their full powers, found in good and
due form, have agreed is follows.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. The present Convention shall apply without prejudice
to the stipulations of Part VII:

(1) To all persons referred to in Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the
Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention (IV) of 18 October
1907, concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, who are
captured by the enemy. (2) To all persons belonging to the armed
forces of belligerents who are captured by the enemy in the course
of operations of maritime or aerial war, subject to such exceptions
(derogations) as the conditions of such capture render inevitable.
Nevertheless these exceptions shall not infringe the fundamental
principles of the present Convention; they shall cease from the
moment when the captured persons shall have reached a prisoners
of war camp.

Art. 2. Prisoners of war are in the power of the hostile Government,
but not of the individuals or formation which captured them.

They shall at all times be humanely treated and protected,
particularly against acts of violence, from insults and from public
curiosity.

Measures of reprisal against them are forbidden.

Art. 3. Prisoners of war are entitled to respect for their
persons and honour. Women shall be treated with all consideration
due to their sex.

Prisoners retain their full civil capacity.

Art. 4. The detaining Power is required to provide for the
maintenance of prisoners of war in its charge. Differences of
treatment between prisoners are permissible only if such differences
are based on the military rank, the state of physical or mental
health, the professional abilities, or the sex of those who benefit
from them.

PART II

CAPTURE

Art. 5. Every prisoner of war is required to declare, if he
is interrogated on the subject, his true names and rank, or his
regimental number.

If he infringes this rule, he exposes himself to a restriction
of the privileges accorded to prisoners of his category.

No pressure shall be exercised on prisoners to obtain information
regarding the situation in their armed forces or their country.
Prisoners who refuse to reply may not be threatened, insulted,
or exposed to unpleasantness or disadvantages of any kind whatsoever.

If, by reason of his physical or mental condition, a prisoner
is incapable of stating his identity, he shall be handed over
to the Medical Service.

Art. 6. All personal effects and articles in personal use --
except arms, horses, military equipment and military papers --
shall remain in the possession of prisoners of war, as well as
their metal helmets and gas-masks.

Sums of money carried by prisoners may only be taken from them
on the order of an officer and after the amount has been recorded.
A receipt shall be given for them. Sums thus impounded shall be
placed to the account of each prisoner.

Their identity tokens, badges of rank, decorations and articles
of value may not be taken from prisoners.

PART III

CAPTIVITY

SECTION I

EVACUATION OF PRISONERS OF WAR

Art. 7. As soon as possible after their capture, prisoners
of war shall be evacuated to depots sufficiently removed from
the fighting zone for them to be out of danger.

Only prisoners who, by reason of their wounds or maladies,
would run greater risks by being evacuated than by remaining may
be kept temporarily in a dangerous zone. Prisoners shall not be
unnecessarily exposed to danger while awaiting evacuation from
a fighting zone. The evacuation of prisoners on foot shall in
normal circumstances be effected by stages of not more than 20
kilometres per day, unless the necessity for reaching water and
food depôts requires longer stages.

Art. 8. Belligerents are required to notify each other of all
captures of prisoners as soon as possible, through the intermediary
of the Information Bureaux organised in accordance with Article
77. They are likewise required to inform each other of the official
addresses to which letter from the prisoners' families may be
addressed to the prisoners of war.

As soon as possible, every prisoner shall be enabled to correspond
personally with his family, in accordance with the conditions
prescribed in Article 36 and the following Articles.

As regards prisoners captured at sea, the provisions of the
present article shall be observed as soon as possible after arrival
in port.

SECTION II

PRISONERS OF WAR CAMPS

Art. 9. Prisoners of war may be interned in a town, fortress
or other place, and may be required not to go beyond certain fixed
limits. They may also be interned in fenced camps; they shall
not be confined or imprisoned except as a measure indispensable
for safety or health, and only so long as circumstances exist
which necessitate such a measure.

Prisoners captured in districts which are unhealthy or whose
climate is deleterious to persons coming from temperate climates
shall be removed as soon as possible to a more favourable climate.

Belligerents shall as far as possible avoid bringing together
in the same camp prisoners of different races or nationalities.

No prisoner may at any time be sent to an area where he would
be exposed to the fire of the fighting zone, or be employed to
render by his presence certain points or areas immune from bombardment.

CHAPTER 1

Installation of camps

Art. 10. Prisoners of war shall be lodged in buildings or huts
which afford all possible safeguards as regards hygiene and salubrity.

The premises must be entirely free from damp, and adequately
heated and lighted. All precautions shall be taken against the
danger of fire.

As regards dormitories, their total area, minimum cubic air
space, fittings and bedding material, the conditions shall be
the same as for the depot troops of the detaining Power.

CHAPTER 2

Food and clothing of prisoners of war

Art. 11. The food ration of prisoners of war shall be equivalent
in quantity and quality to that of the depot troops.

Prisoners shall also be afforded the means of preparing for
themselves such additional articles of food as they may possess.

Sufficient drinking water shall be supplied to them. The use
of tobacco shall be authorized. Prisoners may be employed in the
kitchens.

All collective disciplinary measures affecting food are prohibited.

Art. 12. Clothing, underwear and footwear shall be supplied
to prisoners of war by the detaining Power. The regular replacement
and repair of such articles shall be assured. Workers shall also
receive working kit wherever the nature of the work requires it.

In all camps, canteens shall be installed at which prisoners
shall be able to procure, at the local market price, food commodities
and ordinary articles. The profits accruing to the administrations
of the camps from the canteens shall be utilised for the benefit
of the prisoners.

CHAPTER 3

Hygiene in camps

Art. 13. Belligerents shall be required to take all necessary
hygienic measures to ensure the cleanliness and salubrity of camps
and to prevent epidemics.

Prisoners of war shall have for their use, day and night, conveniences
which conform to the rules of hygiene and are maintained in a
constant state of cleanliness. In addition and without prejudice
to the provision as far as possible of baths and shower-baths
in the camps, the prisoners shall be provided with a sufficient
quantity of water for their bodily cleanliness.

They shall have facilities for engaging in physical exercises
and obtaining the benefit of being out of doors.

Art. 14. Each camp shall possess an infirmary, where prisoners
of war shall receive attention of any kind of which they may be
in need. If necessary, isolation establishments shall be reserved
for patients suffering from infectious and contagious diseases.

The expenses of treatment, including those of temporary remedial
apparatus, shall be borne by the detaining Power.

Belligerents shall be required to issue, on demand, to any
prisoner treated, and official statement indicating the nature
and duration of his illness and of the treatment received.

It shall be permissible for belligerents mutually to authorize
each other, by means of special agreements, to retain in the camps
doctors and medical orderlies for the purpose of caring for their
prisoner compatriots. Prisoners who have contracted a serious
malady, or whose condition necessitates important surgical treatment,
shall be admitted, at the expense of the detaining Power, to any
military or civil institution qualified to treat them.

Art. 15. Medical inspections of prisoners of war shall be arranged
at least once a month. Their object shall be the supervision of
the general state of health and cleanliness, and the detection
of infectious and contagious diseases., particularly tuberculosis
and venereal complaints.

CHAPTER 4

Intellectual and moral needs of prisoners of war

Art. 16. Prisoners of war shall be permitted complete freedom
in the performance of their religious duties, including attendance
at the services of their faith, on the sole condition that they
comply with the routine and police regulations prescribed by the
military authorities. Ministers of religion, who are prisoners
of war, whatever may be their denomination, shall be allowed freely
to minister to their co-religionists.

Art. 17. belligerents shall encourage as much as possible the
organization of intellectual and sporting pursuits by the prisoners
of war.

CHAPTER 5

Internal discipline of camps

Art. 18. Each prisoners of war camp shall be placed under the
authority of a responsible officer.

In addition to external marks of respect required by the regulations
in force in their own armed forces with regard to their nationals,
prisoners of war shall be required to salute all officers of the
detaining Power. Officer prisoners of war shall be required to
salute only officers of that Power who are their superiors or
equals in rank.

Art. 19. The wearing of badges of rank and decorations shall
be permitted.

Art. 20. Regulations, orders, announcements and publications
of any kind shall be communicated to prisoners of war in a language
which they understand. The same principle shall be applied to
questions.

CHAPTER 6

Special provisions concerning officers and persons of equivalent
status

Art. 21. At the commencement of hostilities, belligerents shall
be required reciprocally to inform each other of the titles and
ranks in use in their respective armed forces, with the view of
ensuring equality of treatment between the corresponding ranks
of officers and persons of equivalent status.

Officers and persons of equivalent status who are prisoners
of war shall be treated with due regard to their rank and age.

Art. 22. In order to ensure the service of officers' camps,
soldier prisoners of war of the same armed forces, and as far
as possible speaking the same language, shall be detached for
service therein in sufficient number, having regard to the rank
of the officers and persons of equivalent status.

Officers and persons of equivalent status shall procure their
food and clothing from the pay to be paid to them by the detaining
Power. The management of a mess by officers themselves shall be
facilitated in every way.

CHAPTER 7

Pecuniary resources of prisoners of war

Art. 23. Subject to any special arrangements made between the
belligerent Powers, and particularly those contemplated in Article
24, officers and persons of equivalent status who are prisoners
of war shall receive from the detaining Power the same pay as
officers of corresponding rank in the armed forces of that Power,
provided, however, that such pay does not exceed that to which
they are entitled in the armed forces of the country in whose
service they have been. This pay shall be paid to them in full,
once a month if possible, and no deduction therefrom shall be
made for expenditure devolving upon the detaining Power, even
if such expenditure is incurred on their behalf.

An agreement between the belligerents shall prescribe the rate
of exchange applicable to this payment; in default of such agreement,
the rate of exchange adopted shall be that in force at the moment
of the commencement of hostilities.

All advances made to prisoners of war by way of pay shall be
reimbursed, at the end of hostilities, by the Power in whose service
they were.

Art. 24. At the commencement of hostilities, belligerents shall
determine by common accord the maximum amount of cash which prisoners
of war of various ranks and categories shall be permitted to retain
in their possession. Any excess withdrawn or withheld from a prisoner,
and any deposit of money effected by him, shall be carried to
his account, and may not be converted into another currency without
his consent.

The credit balances of their accounts shall be paid to the
prisoners of war at the end of their captivity. During the continuance
of the latter, facilities shall be accorded to them for the transfer
of these amounts, wholly or in part, to banks or private individuals
in their country of origin.

CHAPTER 8

Transfer of prisoners of war

Art. 25. Unless the course of military operations demands it,
sick and wounded prisoners of war shall not be transferred if
their recovery might be prejudiced by the journey.

Art. 26. In the event of transfer, prisoners of war shall be
officially informed in advance of their new destination; they
shall be authorized to take with them their personal effects,
their correspondence and parcels which have arrived for them.

All necessary arrangements shall be made so that correspondence
and parcels addressed to their former camp shall be sent on to
them without delay.

The sums credited to the account of transferred prisoners shall
be transmitted to the competent authority of their new place of
residence.

Expenses incurred by the transfers shall be borne by the detaining
Power.

SECTION III

WORK OF PRISONERS OF WAR

CHAPTER 1

General

Art. 27. Belligerents may employ as workmen prisoners of war
who are physically fit, other than officers and persons of equivalent
statue, according to their rink and their ability.

Nevertheless, if officers or persons of equivalent status ask
for suitable work, this shall be found for them as far as possible.

Non-commissioned officers who are prisoners of war may be compelled
to undertake only supervisory work, unless they expressly request
remunerative occupation. During the whole period of captivity,
belligerents are required to admit prisoners of war who are victims
of accidents at work to the benefit of provisions applicable to
workmen of the same category under the legislation of the detaining
Power. As regards prisoners of war to whom these legal provisions
could not be applied by reason of the legislation of that Power,
the latter undertakes to recommend to its legislative body all
proper measures for the equitable compensation of the victims.

CHAPTER 2

Organization of work

Art. 28. The detaining Power shall assume entire responsibility
for the maintenance, care, treatment and the payment of the wages
of prisoners of war working for private individuals.

Art. 29. No prisoner of war may be employed on work for which
he is physically unsuited.

Art. 30. The duration of the daily work of prisoners of war,
including the time of the journey to and from work, shall not
be excessive and shall in no case exceed that permitted for civil
workers of the locality employed on the same work. Each prisoner
shall be allowed a rest of twenty-four consecutive hours each
week, preferably on Sunday.

CHAPTER 3

Prohibited work

Art. 31. Work done by prisoners of war shall have no direct
connection with the operations of the war. In particular, it is
forbidden to employ prisoners in the manufacture or transport
of arms or munitions of any kind, or on the transport of material
destined for combatant units.

In the event of violation of the provisions of the preceding
paragraph, prisoners are at liberty, after performing or commencing
to perform the order, to have their complaints presented through
the intermediary of the prisoners' representatives whose functions
are described in Articles 43 an 44, or, in the absence of a prisoners'
representative, through the intermediary of the representatives
of the protecting Power.

Art. 32. It is forbidden to employ prisoners of war on unhealthy
or dangerous work. Conditions of work shall not be rendered more
arduous by disciplinary measures.

CHAPTER 4

Labour detachments

Art. 33. Conditions governing labour detachments shall be similar
to those of prisoners-of-war camps, particularly as concerns hygienic
conditions, food, care in case of accidents or sickness, correspondence,
and the reception of parcels.

Every labour detachment shall be attached to a prisoners' camp.
The commander of this camp shall be responsible for the observance
in the labour detachment of the provisions of the present Convention.

CHAPTER 5

Pay

Art. 34. Prisoners of war shall not receive pay for work in
connection with the administration, internal arrangement and maintenance
of camps.

Prisoners employed on other work shall be entitled to a rate
of pay, to be fixed by agreements between the belligerents.

These agreements shall also specify the portion which may be
retained by the camp administration, the amount which shall belong
to the prisoner of war and the manner in which this amount shall
be placed at his disposal during the period of his captivity.

Pending the conclusion of the said agreements, remuneration
of the work of prisoners shall be fixed according to the following
standards:

(a) Work done for the State shall be paid for according to
the rates in force for soldiers of the national forces doing the
same work, or, if no such rates exist, according to a tariff corresponding
to the work executed.

(b) When the work is done for other public administrations
or for private individuals, the conditions shall be settled in
agreement with the military authorities.

The pay which remains to the credit of a prisoner shall be
remitted to him on the termination of his captivity. In case of
death, it shall be remitted through the diplomatic channel to
the heirs of the deceased.

SECTION IV

RELATIONS OF PRISONERS OF WAR WITH THE EXTERIOR

Art. 35. On the commencement of hostilities, belligerents shall
publish the measures prescribed for the execution of the provisions
of the present section.

Art. 36. Each of the belligerents shall fix periodically the
number of letters and postcards which prisoners of war of different
categories shall be permitted to send per month, and shall notify
that number to the other belligerent. These letters and cards
shall be sent by post by the shortest route. They may not be delayed
or withheld for disciplinary motives.

Not later than one week after his arrival in camp, and similarly
in case of sickness, each prisoner shall be enabled to send a
postcard to his family informing them of his capture and the state
of his health. The said postcards shall be forwarded as quickly
as possible and shall not be delayed in any manner.

As a general rule, the correspondence of prisoners shall be
written in their native language. Belligerents may authorize correspondence
in other languages.

Art. 37. Prisoners of war shall be authorized to receive individually
postal parcels containing foodstuffs and other articles intended
for consumption or clothing. The parcels shall be delivered to
the addressees and a receipt given.

Art. 38. Letters and remittances of money or valuables, as
well as postal parcels addressed to prisoners of war, or despatched
by them, either directly or through the intermediary of the information
bureaux mentioned in Article 77, shall be exempt from all postal
charges in the countries of origin and destination and in the
countries through which they pass.

Presents and relief in kind intended for prisoners of war shall
also be exempt from all import or other duties, as well as any
charges for carriage on railways operated by the State.

Prisoners may, in cases of recognized urgency, be authorized
to send telegrams on payment of the usual charges.

Art. 39. Prisoners of war shall be permitted to receive individually
consignments of books which may be subject to censorship.

Representatives of the protecting Powers and of duly recognized
and authorized relief societies may send works and collections
of books to the libraries of prisoners, camps. The transmission
of such consignments to libraries may not be delayed under pretext
of difficulties of censorship.

Art. 40. The censoring of correspondence shall be accomplished
as quickly as possible. The examination of postal parcels shall,
moreover, be effected under such conditions as will ensure the
preservation of any foodstuffs which they may contain, and, if
possible, be done in the presence of the addressee or of a

representative duly recognized by him.

Any prohibition of correspondence ordered by the belligerents,
for military or political reasons, shall only be of a temporary
character and shall also be for as brief a time as possible.

Art. 41. Belligerents shall accord all facilities for the transmission
of documents destined for prisoners of war or signed by them,
in particular powers of attorney and wills.

They shall take the necessary measures to secure, in case of
need, the legalisation of signatures of prisoners.

SECTION V

RELATIONS BETWEEN PRISONERS OF WAR AND THE AUTHORITIES

CHAPTER 1

Complaints of prisoners of war respecting the conditions of
captivity

Art. 42. Prisoners of war shall have the right to bring to
the notice of the military authorities, in whose hands they are,
their petitions concerning the conditions of captivity to which
they are subjected.

They shall also have the right to communicate with the representatives
of the protecting Powers in order to draw their attention to the
points on which they have complaints to make with regard to the
conditions of captivity.

Such petitions and complaints shall be transmitted immediately.

Even though they are found to be groundless, they shall not
give rise to any punishment.

CHAPTER 2

Representatives of prisoners of war

Art. 43. In any locality where there may be prisoners of war,
they shall be authorized to appoint

representatives to represent them before the military authorities
and the protecting Powers.

Such appointments shall be subject to the approval of the military
authorities.

The prisoners' representatives shall be charged with the reception
and distribution of collective consignments. Similarly, in the
event of the prisoners deciding to organize amongst themselves
a system of mutual aid, such organization shall be one of the
functions of the prisoners" representatives. On the other
hand, the latter may offer their services to prisoners to facilitate
their relations with the relief societies mentioned in Article
78.

In camps of officers and persons of equivalent status the senior
officer prisoner of the highest rank shall be recognized as intermediary
between the camp authorities and the officers and similar persons
who are prisoners, for this purpose he shall have the power to
appoint an officer prisoner to assist him as interpreter in the
course of conferences with the authorities of the camp.

Art. 44. When the prisoners representatives are employed as
workmen, their work as representatives of the prisoners of war
shall be reckoned in the compulsory period of labour.

All facilities shall be accorded to the prisoners' representatives
for their correspondence with the military authorities and the
protecting Power. Such correspondence shall not be subject to
any limitation.

No prisoners' representative may be transferred without his
having been allowed the time necessary to acquaint his successors
with the current business.

CHAPTER 3

Penal sanctions with regard to prisoners of war

I. General provisions

Art. 45. Prisoners of war shall be subject to the laws, regulations
and orders in force in the armed forces of the detaining Power.

Any act of insubordination shall render them liable to the
measures prescribed by such laws, regulations, and orders, except
as otherwise provided in this Chapter.

Art. 46. Prisoners of war shall not be subjected by the military
authorities or the tribunals of the detaining Power to penalties
other than those which are prescribed for similar acts by members
of the national forces. Officers, non-commissioned officers or
private soldiers, prisoners of war, undergoing disciplinary punishment
shall not be subjected to treatment less favourable than that
prescribed, as regards the same punishment, for similar ranks
in the armed forces of the detaining Power.

All forms of corporal punishment, confinement in premises not
lighted by daylight and, in general, all forms of cruelty whatsoever
are prohibited.

Collective penalties for individual acts are also prohibited.

Art. 47. A statement of the facts in cases of acts constituting
a breach of discipline, and particularly an attempt to escape,
shall be drawn up in writing without delay. The period during
which prisoners of war of whatever rank are detained in custody
(pending the investigation of such offences) shall be reduced
to a strict minimum.

The judicial proceedings against a prisoner of war shall be
conducted as quickly as circumstances will allow. The period during
which prisoners shall be detained in custody shall be as short
as possible.

In all cases the period during which a prisoner is under arrest
(awaiting punishment or trial) shall be deducted from the sentence,
whether disciplinary or judicial, provided such deduction is permitted
in the case of members of the national forces.

Art. 48. After undergoing the judicial or disciplinary punishment
which has been inflicted on them, prisoners of war shall not be
treated differently from other prisoners. Nevertheless, prisoners
who have been punished as the result of an attempt to escape may
be subjected to a special régime of surveillance, but this
shall not involve the suppression of any of the safeguards accorded
to prisoners by the present Convention.

Art. 49. No prisoner of war may be deprived of his rank by
the detaining Power.

Prisoners on whom disciplinary punishment is inflicted shall
not be deprived of the privileges attaching to their rank. In
particular, officers and persons of equivalent status who suffer
penalties entailing deprivation of liberty shall not be placed
in the same premises as non-commissioned officers or private soldiers
undergoing punishment.

Art. 50. Escaped prisoners of war who are re-captured before
they have been able to rejoin their own armed forces or to leave
the territory occupied by the armed forces which captured them
shall be liable only to disciplinary punishment.

Prisoners who, after succeeding in rejoining their armed forces
or in leaving the territory occupied by the armed forces which
captured them, are again taken prisoner shall not be liable to
any punishment for their previous escape.

Art. 51. Attempted escape, even if it is nut a first offence,
shall not be considered as an aggravation of the offence in the
event of the prisoner of war being brought before the courts for
crimes or offences against persons or property committed in the
course of such attempt. After an attempted or successful escape,
the comrades of the escaped person who aided the escape shall
incur only disciplinary punishment therefor.

Art. 52. Belligerents shall ensure that the competent authorities
exercize the greatest leniency in considering the question whether
an offence committed by a prisoner of war should be punished by
disciplinary or by judicial measures.

This provision shall be observed in particular in appraising
facts in connexion with escape or attempted escape.

A prisoner shall not be punished more than once for the same
act or on the same charge.

Art. 53. No prisoner who has been awarded any disciplinary
punishment for an offence and who fulfils the conditions laid
down for repatriation shall be retained on the ground that he
has not undergone his punishment. Prisoners qualified for repatriation
against whom any prosecution for a criminal offence has been brought
may be excluded from repatriation until the termination of the
proceedings and until fulfilment of their sentence, if any; prisoners
already serving a sentence of imprisonment may be retained until
the expiry of the sentence. Belligerents shall communicate to
each other lists of those who cannot be repatriated for the reasons
indicated in the preceding paragraph.

II. Disciplinary punishments

Art. 54. Imprisonment is the most severe disciplinary punishment
which may be inflicted on a prisoner of war. The duration of any
single punishment shall not exceed thirty days.

This maximum of thirty days shall, moreover, not be exceeded
in the event of there being several acts for which the prisoner
is answerable to discipline at the time when his case is disposed
of, whether such acts are connected or not.

Where, during the course or after the termination of a period
of imprisonment, a prisoner is sentenced to a fresh disciplinary
penalty, a period of at least three days shall intervene between
each of the periods of imprisonment, if one of such periods is
of ten days or over.

Art. 55. Subject to the provisions of the last paragraph of
Article 11, the restrictions in regard to food permitted in the
armed forces of the detaining Power may be applied, as an additional
penalty, to prisoners of war undergoing disciplinary punishment.

Such restrictions shall, however, only be ordered if the state
of the prisoner's health permits.

Art. 56. In no case shall prisoners of war be transferred to
penitentiary establishments (prisoners, penitentiaries, convict
establishments, etc.) in order to undergo disciplinary sentence
there.

Establishments in which disciplinary sentences are undergone
shall conform to the requirements of hygiene. Facilities shall
be afforded to prisoners undergoing sentence to keep themselves
in a state of cleanliness. Every day, such prisoners shall have
facilities for taking exercise or for remaining out of doors for
at least two hours.

Art. 57. Prisoners of war undergoing disciplinary punishment
shall be permitted to read and write and to send and receive letters.

On the other hand, it shall be permissible not to deliver parcels
and remittances of money to the addressees until the expiration
of the sentence. If the undelivered parcels contain perishable
foodstuffs, these shall be handed over to the infirmary or to
the camp kitchen.

Art. 58. Prisoners of war undergoing disciplinary punishment
shall be permitted, on their request, to present themselves for
daily medical inspection. They shall receive such attention as
the medical officers may consider necessary, and, if need be,
shall be evacuated to the camp infirmary or to hospital.

Art. 59. Without prejudice to the competency of the courts
and the superior military authorities, disciplinary sentences
may only be awarded by an officer vested with disciplinary powers
in his capacity as commander of the camp or detachment, or by
the responsible officer acting as his substitute.

III. Judicial proceedings

Art. 60. At the commencement of a judicial hearing against
a prisoner of war, the detaining Power shall notify the representative
of the protecting Power as soon as possible, and in any case before
the date fixed for the opening of the hearing.

The said notification shall contain the following particulars:

(a) Civil status and rank of the prisoner. (b) Place of residence
or detention.

(c) Statement of the charge or charges, and of the legal provisions
applicable.

If it is not possible in this notification to indicate particulars
of the court which will try the case, the date of the opening
of the hearing and the place where it will take place, these particulars
shall be furnished to the representative of the protecting Power
at a later date, but as soon as possible and in any case at least
three weeks before the opening of the hearing.

Art. 61. No prisoner of war shall be sentenced without being
given the opportunity to defend himself. No prisoner shall be
compelled to admit that he is guilty of the offence of which he
is accused.

Art. 62. The prisoner of war shall have the right to be assisted
by a qualified. advocate of his own choice and, if necessary,
to have recourse to the offices of a competent interpreter. He
shall be informed of his right by the detaining Power in good
time before the hearing. Failing a choice on the part of the prisoner,
the protecting Power may procure an advocate for him. The detaining
Power shall, on the request of the protecting Power, furnish to
the latter a list of persons qualified to conduct the defence.

The representatives of the protecting Power shall have the
right to attend the hearing of the case.

The only exception to this rule is where the hearing has to
be kept secret in the interests of the safety of the State. The
detaining Power would then notify the protecting Power accordingly.

Art. 63. A sentence shall only be pronounced on a prisoner
of war by the same tribunals and in accordance with the same procedure
as in the case of persons belonging to the armed forces of the
detaining Power.

Art. 64. Every prisoner of war shall have the right of appeal
against any sentence against him in the same manner as persons
belonging to the armed forces of the detaining Power.

Art. 65. Sentences pronounced against prisoners of war shall
be communicated immediately to the protecting Power.

Art. 66. If sentence of death is passed on a prisoner of war,
a communication setting forth in detail the nature and the circumstances
of the offence shall be addressed as soon as possible to the representative
of the protecting Power for transmission to the Power in whose
armed forces the prisoner served.

The sentence shall not be carried out before the expiration
of a period of at least three months from the date of the receipt
of this communication by the protecting Power.

Art. 67. No prisoner of war may be deprived of the benefit
of the provisions of Article 42 of the present Convention as the
result of a judgment or otherwise.

PART IV

END OF CAPTIVITY

SECTION I

DIRECT REPATRIATION AND ACCOMMODATION IN A NEUTRAL COUNTRY

Art. 68. Belligerents shall be required to send back to their
own country, without regard to rank or numbers, after rendering
them in a fit condition for transport, prisoners of war who are
seriously ill or seriously wounded.

Agreements between the belligerents shall therefore determine,
as soon as possible, the forms of disablement or sickness requiring
direct repatriation and cases which may necessitate accommodation
in a neutral country. Pending the conclusion of such agreements,
the belligerents may refer to the model draft agreement annexed
to the present Convention.

Art. 69. On the opening of hostilities, belligerents shall
come to an understanding as to the appointment of mixed medical
commissions. These commissions shall consist of three members,
two of whom shall belong to a neutral country and one appointed
by the detaining Power; one of the medical officers of the neutral
country shall preside. These mixed medical commissions shall proceed
to the examination of sick or wounded prisoners and shall make
all appropriate decisions with regard to them. The decisions of
these commissions shall be decided by majority and shall be carried
into effect as soon as possible.

Art. 70. In addition to those prisoners of war selected by
the medical officer of the camp, the following shall be inspected
by the mixed medical Commission mentioned in Article 69, with
a view to their direct repatriation or accommodation in a neutral
country: (a) Prisoners who make a direct request to that effect
to the medical officer of the camp;

(b) Prisoners presented by the prisoners'

representatives mentioned in Article 43, the latter acting
on their own initiative or on the request of the prisoners themselves;

(c) Prisoners nominated by the Power in whose armed forces
they served or by a relief society duly recognized and authorized
by that Power.

Art. 71. Prisoners of war who meet with accidents at work,
unless the injury is self-inflicted, shall have the benefit of
the same provisions as regards repatriation or accommodation in
a neutral country.

Art. 72. During the continuance of hostilities, and for humanitarian
reasons, belligerents may conclude agreements with a view to the
direct repatriation or accommodation in a neutral country of prisoners
of war in good health who have been in captivity for a long time.

Art. 73. The expenses of repatriation or transport to a neutral
country of prisoners of war shall be borne, as from the frontier
of the detaining Power, by the Power in whose armed forces such
prisoners served.

Art. 74. No repatriated person shall be employed on active
military service.

SECTION II

LIBERATION AND REPATRIATION AT THE END OF HOSTILITIES

Art. 75. When belligerents conclude an armistice convention,
they shall normally cause to be included therein provisions concerning
the repatriation of prisoners of war. If it has not been possible
to insert in that convention such stipulations, the belligerents
shall, nevertheless, enter into communication with each other
on the question as soon as possible. In any case, the repatriation
of prisoners shall be effected as soon as possible after the conclusion
of peace.

Prisoners of war who are subject to criminal proceedings for
a crime or offence at common law may, however, be detained until
the end of the proceedings, and, if need be, until the expiration
of the sentence. The same applies to prisoners convicted for a
crime or offence at common law.

By agreement between the belligerents, commissions may be instituted
for the purpose of searching for scattered prisoners and ensuring
their repatriation.

PART V

DEATHS OF PRISONERS OF WAR

Art. 76. The wills of prisoners of war shall be received and
drawn up under the same conditions as for soldiers of the national
armed forces.

The same rules shall be followed as regards the documents relative
to the certification of the death. The belligerents shall ensure
that prisoners of war who have died in captivity are honourably
buried, and that the graves bear the necessary indications and
are treated with respect and suitably maintained.

PART VI

BUREAUX OF RELIEF AND INFORMATION CONCERNING PRISONERS OF WAR

Art. 77. At the commencement of hostilities, each of the belligerent
Powers and the neutral Powers who have belligerents in their care,
shall institute an official bureau to give information about the
prisoners of war in their territory.

Each of the belligerent Powers shall inform its Information
Bureau as soon as possible of all captures of prisoners effected
by its armed forces, furnishing them with all particulars of identity
at its disposal to enable the families concerned to be quickly
notified, and stating the official addresses to which families
may write to the prisoners.

The Information Bureau shall transmit all such information
immediately to the Powers concerned, on the one hand through the
intermediary of the protecting Powers, and on the other through
the Central Agency contemplated in Article 79.

The Information Bureau, being charged with replying to all
enquiries relative to prisoners of war, shall receive from the
various services concerned all particulars respecting internments
and transfers, releases on parole, repatriations, escapes, stays
in hospitals, and deaths, together with all other particulars
necessary for establishing and keeping up to date an individual
record for each prisoner of war.

The Bureau shall note in this record, as far as possible, and
subject to the provisions of Article 5, the regimental number,
names and surnames, date and place of birth, rank and unit of
the prisoner, the surname of the father and name of the mother,
the address of the person to be notified in case of accident,
wounds, dates and places of capture, of internment, of wounds,
of death, together with all other important particulars. Weekly
lists containing all additional particulars capable of facilitating
the identification of each prisoner shall be transmitted to the
interested Powers. The individual record of a prisoner of war
shall be sent after the conclusion of peace to the Power in whose
service he was.

The Information Bureau shall also be required to collect all
personal effects, valuables, correspondence, pay-books, identity
tokens, etc., which have been left by prisoners of war who have
been repatriated or released on parole, or who have escaped or
died, and to transmit them to the countries concerned.

Art. 78. Societies for the relief of prisoners of war, regularly
constituted in accordance with the laws of their country, and
having for their object to serve as intermediaries for charitable
purposes, shall receive from the belligerents, for themselves
and their duly accredited agents, all facilities for the efficacious
performance of their humane task within the limits imposed by
military exigencies. Representatives of these societies shall
be permitted to distribute relief in the camps and at the halting
places of repatriated prisoners under a personal permit issued
by the military authority, and on giving an undertaking in writing
to comply with all routine and police orders which the said authority
shall prescribe.

Art. 79. A Central Agency of information regarding prisoners
of war shall be established in a neutral country. The International
Red Cross Committee shall, if they consider it necessary, propose
to the Powers concerned the organization of such an agency.

This agency shall be charged with the duty of collecting all
information regarding prisoners which they may be able to obtain
through official or private channels, and the agency shall transmit
the information as rapidly as possible to the prisoners' own country
or the Power in whose service they have been.

These provisions shall not be interpreted as restricting the
humanitarian work of the International Red Cross Committee.

Art. 80. Information Bureaux shall enjoy exemption from fees
on postal matter as well as all the exemptions prescribed in Article
38.

PART VII

APPLICATION OF THE CONVENTION TO CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF CIVILIANS

Art. 81. Persons who follow the armed forces without directly
belonging thereto, such as correspondents, newspaper reporters,
sutlers, or contractors, who fall into the hands of the enemy,
and whom the latter think fit to detain, shall be entitled to
be treated as prisoners of war, provided they are in possession
of an authorization from the military authorities of the armed
forces which they were following.

PART VIII

EXECUTION OF THE CONVENTION

SECTION I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 82. The provisions of the present Convention shall be
respected by the High Contracting Parties in all circumstances.

In time of war if one of the belligerents is not a party to
the Convention, its provisions shall, nevertheless, remain binding
as between the belligerents who are parties thereto.

Art. 83. The High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves
the right to conclude special conventions on all questions relating
to prisoners of war concerning which they may consider it desirable
to make special provisions.

Prisoners of war shall continue to enjoy the benefits of these
agreements until their repatriation has been effected, subject
to any provisions expressly to the contrary contained in the above-mentioned
agreements or in subsequent agreements, and subject to any more
favourable measures by one or the other of the belligerent Powers
concerning the prisoners detained by that Power. In order to ensure
the application, on both sides, of the provisions of the present
Convention, and to facilitate the conclusion of the special conventions
mentioned above, the belligerents may, at the commencement of
hostilities, authorize meetings of representatives of the respective
authorities charged with the administration of prisoners of war.

Art. 84. The text of the present Convention and of the special
conventions mentioned in the preceding Article shall be posted,
whenever possible, in the native language of the prisoners of
war, in places where it may be consulted by all the prisoners.

The text of these conventions shall be communicated, on their
request, to prisoners who are unable to inform themselves of the
text posted.

Art. 85. The High Contracting Parties shall communicate to
each other, through the intermediary of the Swiss Federal Council,
the official translations of the present Convention, together
with such laws and regulations as they may adopt to ensure the
application of the present Convention.

SECTION II

ORGANIZATION OF CONTROL

Art. 86. The High Contracting Parties recognize that a guarantee
of the regular application of the present Convention will be found
in the possibility of collaboration between the protecting Powers
charged with the protection of the interests of the belligerents;
in this connexion, the protecting Powers may, apart from their
diplomatic personnel, appoint delegates from among their own nationals
or the nationals of other neutral Powers. The appointment of these
delegates shall be subject to the approval of the belligerent
with whom they are to carry out their mission.

The representatives of the protecting Power or their recognized
delegates shall be authorized to proceed to any place, without
exception, where prisoners of war are interned. They shall have
access to all premises occupied by prisoners and may hold conversation
with prisoners, as a general rule without witnesses, either personally
or through the intermediary of interpreters.

Belligerents shall facilitate as much as possible the task
of the representatives or recognized delegates of the protecting
Power. The military authorities shall be informed of their visits.

Belligerents may mutually agree to allow persons of the prisoners
own nationality to participate in the tours of inspection.

Art. 87. In the event of dispute between the belligerents regarding
the application of the provisions of the present Convention, the
protecting Powers shall, as far as possible, lend their good offices
with the object of settling the dispute.

To this end, each of the protecting Powers may, for instance,
propose to the belligerents concerned that a conference of representatives
of the latter should be held, on suitably chosen neutral territory.
The belligerents shall be required to give effect to proposals
made to them with this object. The protecting Power may, if necessary,
submit fur the approval of the Powers in dispute the name of a
person belonging to a neutral Power or nominated by the International
Red Cross Committee, who shall be invited to take part in this
conference.

Art. 88. The foregoing provisions do not constitute any obstacle
to the humanitarian work which the International Red Cross Committee
may perform for the protection of prisoners of war with the consent
of the belligerents concerned.

SECTION III

FINAL PROVISIONS

Art. 89. In the relations between the Powers who are bound
either by The Hague Convention concerning the Laws and Customs
of War on Land of 29 July 1899, or that of 18 October 1907, and
are parties to the present Convention, the latter shall be complementary
to Chapter 2 of the Regulations annexed to the above-mentioned
Conventions of The Hague.

Art. 90. The present Convention, which shall bear this day's
date, may be signed up to 1 February 1930, on behalf of any of
the countries represented at the Conference which opened at Geneva
on 1 July 1929.

Art. 91. The present Convention shall be ratified as soon as
possible.

The ratifications shall be deposited at Berne. In respect of
the deposit of each instrument of ratification, a ' procès-verbal
' shall be drawn up, and copy thereof, certified correct, shall
be sent by the Swiss Federal Council to the Governments of all
the countries on whose behalf the Convention has been signed or
whose accession has been notified.

Art. 92. The present Convention shall enter into force six
months after at least two instruments of ratification have been
deposited.

Thereafter it shall enter into force for each High Contracting
Party six months after the deposit of its instrument of ratification.

Art. 93. As from the date of its entry into force, the present
Convention shall be open to accession notified in respect of any
country on whose behalf this Convention has not been signed.

Art. 94. Accessions shall be notified in writing to the Swiss
Federal Council and shall take Effect six months after the date
on which they have been received. The Swiss Federal Council shall
notify the accessions to the Governments of all the countries
on whose behalf the Convention has been signed or whose accession
has been notified.

Art. 95. A state of war shall give immediate effect to ratifications
deposited-and to accessions notified by the belligerent Powers
before or after the commencement of hostilities. The communication
of ratifications or accessions received from Powers in a state
of war shall be effected by the Swiss Federal Council by the quickest
method.

Art. 96. Each of the High Contracting Parties shall have the
right to denounce the present Convention. The denunciation shall
only take effect one year after notification thereof has been
made in writing to the Swiss Federal Council. The latter shall
communicate this notification to the Governments of ill the High
Contracting Parties.

The denunciation shall only be valid in respect of the High
Contracting Party which has made notification thereof.

Such denunciation shall, moreover, not take effect during a
war in which the denouncing Power is involved. In this case, the
present Convention shall continue binding, beyond the period of
one year, until the conclusion of peace and, in any case, until
operations of repatriation shall have terminated.

Art. 97. A copy of the present Convention, certified to be
correct, shall be deposited by the Swiss Federal Council in the
archives of the League of Nations. Similarly, ratifications, accessions
and denunciations notified to the Swiss Federal Council shall
be communicated by them to the League of Nations.

In faith whereof the above-mentioned Plenipotentiaries have
signed the present Convention.

Done at Geneva the twenty-seventh July, one thousand nine hundred
and twenty-nine, in a single copy, which shall remain deposited
in the archives of the Swiss Confederation, and of which copies,
certified correct, shall be transmitted to the Governments of
all the countries invited to the Conference.

(Here follow signatures)

ANNEX TO THE CONVENTION OF 27 JULY 1929, RELATIVE TO THE TREATMENT
OF PRISONERS OF WAR

Model draft agreement concerning the direct repatriation or
accommodation in a neutral country of prisoners of war for reasons
of health

I. Guiding Principles for Direct Repatriation or Accommodation
in a Neutral Country

A. ' Guiding Principles for Direct Repatriation'

The following shall be repatriated directly:

1. Sick and wounded whose recovery within one year is not probable
according to medical prognosis, whose condition requires treatment,
and whose intellectual or bodily powers appear to have undergone
a considerable diminution.

1. Sick and wounded whose recovery is presumable within the
period of one year, which it appears that such recovery would
be more certain and more rapid if the sick and wounded were given
the benefit of the resources offered by the neutral country than
if their captivity, properly so called, were prolonged.

2. Prisoners of war whose intellectual or physical health appears,
according to medical opinion, to be seriously threatened by continuance
in captivity, while accommodation in a neutral country would probably
diminish that risk.

C. ' Guiding Principles for the Repatriation of Prisoners in
a Neutral Country. '

Prisoners of war who have been accommodated in a neutral country,
and belong to the following categories, shall be repatriated:

1. Those whose state of health appears to be, or likely to
become such that they would fall into the categories of those
to be repatriated for reasons of health.

2. Those who are convalescent, whose intellectual or physical
powers appear to have undergone a considerable diminution.

II. Special Principles for Direct Repatriation or Accommodation
in a Neutral Country

A. ' Special Principles for Repatriation '

The following shall be repatriated:

1. All prisoners of war suffering the following effective or
functional disabilities as the result of organic injuries: loss
of a limb, paralysis, articular or other disabilities, when the
defect is at least the loss of a foot or a hand, or the equivalent
of the loss of a foot or a hand. 2. All wounded or injured prisoners
of war whose condition is such as to render them invalids whose
cure within a year cannot be medically foreseen. 3. All sick prisoners
whose condition is such as to render them invalids whose cure
within a year cannot be medically foreseen.

The following in particular belong to this category:

(a) Progressive tuberculosis of any organ which, according
to medical prognosis, cannot be cured or at least considerably
improved by treatment in a neutral country;

(b) Non-tubercular affections of the respiratory organs which
are presumed to be incurable (in particular, strongly developed
pulmonary emphysema, with or without bronchitis, bronchiectasis,
serious asthma, gas poisoning, etc.):

(c) Grave chronic affections of the circulatory organs (for
example: valvular affections with a tendency to compensatory troubles,
relatively gave affections of the myocardium, pericardium or the
vessels, in particular, aneurism of the larger vessels which cannot
be operated on, etc.);

(d) Grave chronic affections of the digestive organs;

(e) Grave chronic affections of the urinary and sexual organs,
in particular, for example: any case of chronic nephritis, confirmed
by symptoms, and especially when cardiac and vascular deterioration
already exists; the same applies to chronic pyelitis and cystitis,
etc.;

(g) Blindness of both eyes, or of one eye when the vision of
the other is less than 1 in spite of the use of corrective glasses.
Diminution of visual acuteness in cases where it is impossible
to restore it by correction to an acuteness of 1/2 in at least
one eye. The other ocular affections falling within the present
category (glaucoma, iritis, choroiditis, etc.);

(h) Total bilateral deafness, and total unilateral deafness
in cases where the ear which is not completely deaf cannot hear
ordinary speaking voice at a distance of one metre;

(l) Chronic affections of the locomotive organs (arthritis
deformans, gout, or rheumatism with impairment, which can be ascertained
clinically), provided that they are serious; (m) Malignant growths,
if they are not amenable to relatively mild operations without
danger to the life of the person operated upon; (n) All cases
of malaria with appreciable organic deterioration (serious chronic
enlargement of the liver or spleen, cachexy, etc.); (o) Grave
chronic cutaneous affections, when their nature does not constitute
a medical reason for treatment in a neutral country; (p) Serious
avitaminosis (beri-beri, pellagra, chronic scurvy).

B. ' Special Principles for Accommodation in a Neutral Country.
'

Prisoners of war shall be accommodated in a neutral country
if they suffer from the following affections:

1. All forms of tuberculosis of any organ, if, according to
present medical knowledge, they can be cured or their condition
considerably improved by methods applicable in a neutral country
(altitude, treatment in sanatoria, etc.). 2. All forms necessitating
treatment of affections of the respiratory, circulatory, digestive,
genito-urinary, or nervous organs, of the organs of the senses,
or of the locomotive or cutaneous functions, provided that such
forms of affection do not belong to the categories necessitating
direct repatriation, or that they are not acute maladies (properly
so called) susceptible of complete cure. The affections referred
to in this paragraph are such as admit, by the application of
methods of treatment available in the neutral country, of really
better chances of the patient's recovery than if he were treated
in captivity. Special consideration should be given to nervous
troubles, the effective or determining causes of which are the
effects of the war or of captivity, such as psychasthenia of prisoners
of war or other analogous cases.

All duly established cases of this nature must be treated in
neutral countries when their gravity or their constitutional character
does not render them cases for direct repatriation.

Cases of psychasthenia of prisoners of war who are not cured
after three months' sojourn in a neutral country, or which after
that period are not manifestly on the way to complete recovery,
shall be repatriated.

3. All cases of wounds or injuries or their consequences which
offer better prospects of cure in a neutral country than in captivity,
provided that such cases are neither such as justify direct repatriation,
nor insignificant cases. 4. All duly established cases of malaria
which do not show organic deterioration clinically

ascertainable (chronic enlargement of the liver or spleen,
cachexy, etc.), if sojourn in a neutral country offers particularly
favourable prospects of final cure.

5. All cases of poisoning (in particular by gas, metals, or
alkaloids) for which the prospects of cure in a neutral country
are especially favourable.

The following are excluded from accommodation in a neutral
country:

1. All cases of duly established mental affections. 2. All
organic or functional nervous affections which are reputed to
be incurable. (These two categories belong to those which entitle
direct

repatriation).

3. Grave chronic alcoholism.

4. All contagious affections during the period when they are
transmissible (acute infectious diseases, primary and secondary
(syphilis, trachoma, leprosy, etc.).

III. General Observations

The conditions stated above must, in a general way, be interpreted
and applied in as broad a spirit as possible. This breadth of
interpretation must especially be applied in neuropathic or psychopathic
cases caused or aggravated by the effects of war or captivity

(psychasthenia of prisoners of war), and in cases of tuberculosis
in all degrees.

It is obvious that camp doctors and mixed medical commissions
may find themselves faced with many cases not mentioned amongst
the examples given under Section II above, or with cases that
cannot be assimilated to these examples. The above-mentioned examples
are only given as typical examples; a similar list of surgical
disabilities has not been drawn up because, apart from cases which
are indisputable on account of their very nature

(amputations), it is difficult to draw up a list of specified
types; experience has shown that a list of such specified cases
was not without inconvenience in practice. Cases not conforming
exactly with the examples quoted shall be determined in the spirit
of the guiding principles given above.